I love spreading the word about Caitlin Doughty, a Los Angeles mortician, who has a website The Order of the Good Death, a video series, Ask a Mortician, and a new book, Smoke Gets in the Your Eyes & Other Lessons from the Crematory.

She’s a little (or a lot) nutty, but all the better to shake us out of our fear and avoidance of all things death. She’s truly a bright spot in a too-long dark and mysterious world of death and funerals.

In this video, she reassures those who wonder if the ashes they get from the crematory or funeral home are actually the right ones! Educational and fun, the best possible combo.